


Why I Ship Root and Shaw (Shoot)

by Pantherheart



Series: Shoot Week 2017 [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: 2017, F/F, shoot week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-07 01:35:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11048553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pantherheart/pseuds/Pantherheart
Summary: I tried to put my feelings into words. Hopefully, I was at least somewhat successful.





	Why I Ship Root and Shaw (Shoot)

The reason I love Root and Shaw so much is because they make me feel like I’m not alone. I know that I am surrounded by family and friends and people who care about me. I know there are people I can talk to about almost anything, if I asked them to. But, for whatever reason, I still feel… alone. I’m not good at expressing my feelings out loud. It’s easier for me to show them either in written words, like I'm doing now, or through my actions. The point is, despite all these people I have standing beside me and supporting me, I still feel… like I don’t belong. I’m not sure why. No matter what, I love these people, it’s just… emotionally and mentally… I feel… out of place, alone, as if I’m… a black panther in the middle of tigers. Everyone else is brightly colored, their pelt covered with a unique set of stripes. And I, on the other hand, am dark colored - no bright orange, no stripes. Just pitch black fur, blending into the shadows without a trace. Invisible. Alone.

But then, with Root and Shaw, I find my pitch black fur is no diffferent than theirs’ and my lack of stripes does not matter anymore. I still blend in the shadows but, for once, the shadows hold people who truly understand me.

I think… in a way… Root and Shaw are each representations of me. Shaw, the part of me that struggles with emotions. The part that hates them - that wishes, at times, that I could just stop feeling altogether. Shaw is the part of me that prefers the company of dogs over other humans because dogs love without judging you and they listen quietly as you ramble on to them about your problems and annoying, messy emotions. And they just watch you with their innocent, intelligent eyes and you feel as if they can understand what you’re telling them. And you think to yourself maybe, just maybe, they truly can.

On the flip side, Root is the part of me that feels so deeply, so strongly, that the thought of not having emotions is unimaginable. She is the part of me that builds walls around my heart because I’m afraid to let people in. I’ve felt more pain - physical, mental, and emotional - in my 18 years on this Earth than I can remember inside my brain, but the scars remain. She is the part of me that flinches away when someone tries to touch my shoulder and stiffens if someone actually does It. She is the part of me that prefers the darkness, but hates being alone.

Together, Root and Shaw make up the stubborn part of me. The part that never gives up, no matter what anyone says, the part of me that is loyal to the end. The part of me that continues fighting, even when everyone tells me to quit. Together, they represent my capacity to love and my ability to recognize the beauty in things no one else can see. They represent the good and bad in me.

Like Harold said, "There are no heros, no villains… just people doing the best they can." We all make mistakes, we all do things we later regret. There are things we all wish we could change about our lives and ourselves. We all have hopes and dreams that may or may not ever come true. I, above all else, hope I get to die one day, knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life. And I want someone to love me as deeply and honestly as Root and Shaw love each other. Life is crap and we will all face problems we feel there is no solution for. And sometimes, there isn't a solution. Some problems can't be solved. Some things in this world can't be changed. And that's a scary thought. But what makes life less daunting, what makes it worth living, is this: You don't have to face it alone.

As Root once noted, "The world is dark for everyone." And, sometimes, it gets so dark for me that I forget that life is worth something. (I don't mean that like I'm going to harm myself in any way. Just that I feel... unmotivated, so to speak.) I forget that there is, in fact, light in this world. When that happens, I turn to my friends, my family. But that doesn't always help me. Sometimes, it just makes me feel worse because even though they try, my friends and family simply don't understand me. So, I resort to something else: Root and Shaw. They calm me, they cheer me up, they make me laugh. They make me smile. But, most of all, Root and Shaw - as a 4 alarm fire… as a symphony… they remind me that I'm not alone in this world. I will always have the two of them.


End file.
